Connecting Communities Through
Arts, Dialogue & Transformation
The Origin Stories of
Beechwood Arts & Innovation And The HIVE
Beechwood Arts & Innovation and the HIVE were both co-founded by renowned pianist, Frederic Chiu, and his wife, Jeanine Esposito, a visual artist and innovation pioneer. Here is the story...
The Origin of Beechwood Arts
"In 2011, while searching for a home for our growing family, we came upon a beautiful 1806 estate in Westport, CT with a spectacular 400 yr old Copper Beech Tree watching over the house. We were not at all looking for an estate, or an arts venue, but as artists and innovators, we were mutually and instantly inspired! We both imagined bringing all the arts together in one collaborative "Arts Immersion" with a diverse & interactive community experience. We crazily made a bid on the house, along with a letter explaining our inspiration and, to our shock, we won the bid! The mission of Beechwood Arts & Innovation was to reimagine what the arts experience could be. We held over 100+ "Arts Immersion Salons" from 2011-2023 that did exactly that."
The Transition to The HIVE
"With Beechwood Arts, we did, in fact, reimagine what the Arts Experience could be. But also, in the process, we heard from our community that a critical part of the magic was the sense of community, connection and collaboration they experienced across a wide diversity of people. When we sold Beechwood in 2023, we decided to start The HIVE to partner with community-connected organizations to reimagine what the community experience could be, focused on community connection and understanding, inspired by the arts, dialogue, ideas & transformation.
Co-Founders of Beechwood Arts and The HIVE
Photo Jerri Graham
Frederic Chiu
A world-renowned, award-winning concert pianist, Frederic has played in 37 countries, in all 50 States, and in many of the world's biggest concert halls. He was recognized with the Avery Fischer Career Grant. As a recording artist, Frederic has released over 35 CD’s, many to industry acclaim. His multiple degrees in Music and CS from Indiana University and The Juilliard School give him a unique perspective and approach to his music that earns him a devoted following. His elimination from the Van Cliburn Finals due to his program originality created an uproar in the public and the press, fueling his early career and defining him as an innovative and risk-taking pianist.
Frederic is a full-time tenure-track Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and also teaches at The Hartt School. He is the creator of the innovative Deeper Performance Studies workshops that bring a unique Heart/Mind/Body approach to personal performance, and which was offered for many years as part of the American Pianist Association award.
Frederic co-founded Beechwood Arts and Innovation, later the HIVE, with his wife, Jeanine Esposito, innovation pioneer and visual artist.
JEanine Esposito
Jeanine Esposito started her career in marketing and corporate strategy before becoming an early innovation pioneer, founding 2 innovation companies and leading innovation teams in over 40 multinational companies to develop multi-million-dollar innovations.
Afterwards, Jeanine developed the EXCITE Transformation PD series for community organizations to understand their communities’ unspoken and deepest needs and engage in true collaboration and purposeful innovation to reimagine and transform how they serve their communities. Through the Connecticut Library’s DLD and a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Science, she brought EXCITE to over 60 Libraries across the U.S. where participants received seed grants to implement the innovations they developed for their communities. She also led “Unprecedented Conversations” with Library Directors across the country, Staff Engagement sessions to re-engage staff during the difficult pandemic years and helped develop community-facing strategic plans for several multi-location organizations.
Jeanine is also an award-winning visual artist. She co-founded Beechwood Arts and Innovation, an arts non-profit, and later The HIVE, with her concert-pianist husband, Frederic Chiu.
Jeanine & Frederic together co-founded and ran Beechwood Arts & Innovation, a nonprofit based in Westport, CT with the mission to reimagine what the arts experience could be. Over 12 years they hosted over 100 Arts Immersions – a mix of all the arts plus community in collaboration around a meaningful theme. In 2023 Jeanine and Frederic sold the Beechwood property and started The HIVE under the same 501(c)3. The HIVE was created to reimagine what the community experience could be by working directly with a wide range of community-based organizations to “to help deepen community connection within & between communities, inspired & facilitated by the arts, dialogue, ideas & transformation."